Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com
is honored to have as our guest Paula Marshall, author
of Finding the Soul of Big Business: One Company's Ego
Elimination Strategy. Her book discusses ways to integrate the
many philosophies that have informed her experience as a female CEO
in America. Paula is CEO of The Bama Companies.

Norm:

Good day Paula and thanks for participating in our interview.

Could you tell us something about yourself and Bama Companies?

Paula:

Well, Bama was started in the kitchen of my Grandmother, Alabama
Marshall, in 1937. People would line up on the sidewalk to buy slices
of her pies. Today, Bama Companies manufacture over one million
hand- held pies per day. From those pies made in 1937, to the
pies we make today, there is one common thread: consistent
quality in every product we manufacture.

Norm:

Among the leaders you have chosen to adopt as a mentor, one has
been Dr. William Edwards Deming. What most interested you in Dr.
Deming?

Paula:

Deming helped the Japanese car companies become the titans of
industry they are considered today. He integrated statistics into
manufacturing to raise the overall quality of products. When I was
faced with a quality problem many years ago, because we were trying
to cut costs, I went to a Deming seminar out of desperation. I was
looking for answers, and had heard he was a guru in the field of
manufacturing. He asked the hundreds of people in the audience, “Who
here is a CEO?” Being the only woman in the room, I gingerly raised
my hand. Mine was the only hand raised. He began a one-on-one
mentorship with me, because he knew that true change had to come from
the top of an organization.

Norm:

What has been your most challenging moment in business and how
did you deal with it?

Paula:

It would have to be the moment I mentioned before, about having a
quality crisis. We had changed suppliers, and the new ingredients had
caused our pies to fall apart in the fryers at McDonalds. Every
McDonalds in the country had to shut down for two hours while they
cleaned the apple pie gunk out of the fryers. I knew then that there
had to be a better solution than going with the lowest priced
ingredients, because then you sacrifice your quality. I started
enhancing my knowledge of Deming’s principles, and began to
restructure the company to be focused on quality. This meant not only
focusing on the quality of the ingredients, but the quality of
employees and relationships too…everything had an impact on the
product.

Norm:

Do you think great managers are born or can people be taught to
be great managers?

Paula:

We have thorough training and education that continues throughout
a person’s employment at Bama. I believe with the right tools,
anyone can be a great leader. It might take a lot of personal work
and growth, but if given the right support system and environment for
learning, any manager can be a leader.

Norm:

How did you decide you were ready to write Finding the Soul of
Big Business?

Paula:

I have always wanted to share my philosophies, and my work with
Deming. I wanted to tell the world how focusing on people, building
relationships and continuous training, though expensive on the front
end, will pay off in the future. About five years ago, I began to see
the business climate changing ever so slightly. There had always been
big bonuses, but they began to grow at an alarming rate. Things like
Enron and the “Tech bubble burst” were happening. I knew it was
time to send my message out into the world, before American
businesses suffocated from their own greed.

Norm:

Why do you think this is such an important book at this time in
our society?

Paula:

In 2008, when the markets crashed we were all given a wake-up
call. We were told by the free-market we created that it could not
sustain the way we were doing business. My manuscript was completed
before the crash, but it was not pure coincidence that my book came
out soon after. People will be looking for a new way to do business,
and I believe that my book will help them start to see what that
looks like.

Norm:

What makes your book different than the thousands of other
business books? Whom do you think will benefit from your book and
why?

Paula:

Bringing love, spirituality and the concept of the ‘soul’ into
the office have historically been looked down on. The big wigs see
this as feminine and ‘touchy feely,’ to them, business isn’t
supposed to be ‘personal.’ In my opinion, I don’t see how
something you do for 40 hours per week for most of your life isn’t
personal. I want my employees to bring their whole selves to work,
not just their analytical minds. Introducing the idea that you can be
yourself at work and be respected, listened to and valued, that idea
is what attracts people to my book.

Norm:

Was your work improvisational or did you have a set plan?

Paula:

The book was originally a much different product than what it is
today. Like any big project, it went through many phases and though
it wasn’t my original vision, I think it carries my message all the
way through in a much more cohesive way.

Norm:

What's the most difficult thing for you about being a writer
and writing your book?

Paula:

Finding the time to really devote to a project like this has been
hard, but also the editing process is hard. I had a lot of content
that I wanted to see make it to the book, but as a whole it didn’t
work with the message. Having to cut the book down to a manageable
size was probably the hardest part.

Norm: What were the most surprising things you learned in writing
your book?Paula: Being a CEO, when I make a decision I see it go
into action immediately. The effect is not seen instantaneously, but
I can see the results fairly quickly. With the book, it has been a
refreshing, though sometimes frustrating change. It takes upwards of
three years for a book to take off, and I am starting at the bottom.
But I am devoted to getting my message out, and helping change
American business for the better.

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you and your book?

Paula:

My website www.findingthesoulofbusiness.com and I also
write a blog regularly at www.paulaamarshall.wordpress.com.
Thanks for your support in helping change the way business it done!